Jobs for Georgia Graduates 2017 CDC

The 2017 Jobs for Georgia Graduates Conference was held in Macon, Georgia on March 3, 2017. The state program celebrated its 30th Anniversary with well over 500 students representing 21 high schools from throughout the state. The theme for this year’s conference was “It’s Time.” Students were asked to finish that statement and their remarks were included in the program booklet. Students made comments such as It’s time … “to stop playing games and make a change”, “to shine”, “to get uncomfortable”, “for world peace”, “to stop poverty”, “to strengthen people who never achieved their dreams”. Corporate sponsors for this year’s conference included Archer Daniel Midlands (ADM) and Regions Bank.

The conference offered an Opening Session, State Competition, workshops and an Awards Luncheon. The workshops were facilitated by industry professionals to include Regions Bank, Beasley Flooring and First Quality Packing Solutions. The workshop topics were entitled Employer Expectations, Banking Basics for Students and Job Survival Skills. The conference culminated in an Awards Luncheon where we heard from Labor Commissioner Mark Butler who gave Opening Remarks. We also heard from the first place winner of the Public Speaking Competition who delivered a five minute speech based upon the theme, “How Can I Be An Agent of Change”. Our keynote speaker was Monica Swayne, LCSW, LLC Counseling and Consulting Services.

The conference promised to inform, educate, and inspire us but during the process, we were transformed because we were taught that “It’s Time for us all to be “Agents of Change.”